Separate the obvious streams
A remodel produces galvanized duct, copper pipe, steel studs, aluminum trim, and a tangle of wire. Scrap yards often want those streams separated because they buy them on different terms. A transfer station may not buy metal at all and may only accept it as trash or in a resident recycling container. Call and ask what to do with each kind. Pull nails from boards only if you are also sorting wood. Keep insulated wire in its own bundle if the yard asked for that. Do not burn insulation off wire. Burning wire is illegal in many places and it is a bad idea everywhere near a house.
Closed tanks and refrigerant parts stay out
An empty paint can is not the topic here. A sealed compressor, a propane cylinder, an aerosol can with propellant, or a refrigerator coil is not ordinary scrap. Do not cut refrigerant lines. Refrigerant has to be recovered by a certified technician. Do not add a water-heater tank until a yard says it takes tanks, and only after the tank is drained and disconnected by someone qualified. If you are unsure whether a part is pressurized, set it aside and ask. A mixed scrap load that includes a closed cylinder can be refused.
Make the load inspectable
Keep metal in open bins or on top of the load so the scale house can see it. Hide nothing under carpet. Sharp duct edges need gloves and a cover so they do not slice a strap. At a scrap yard, be ready for them to reject contaminated metal that is full of wood, concrete, or tar. At a landfill, expect metal to go where staff say, which may be trash if they have no buyer. Either outcome is better than dumping metal in the woods. Get a receipt or a weight ticket and leave with whatever they refused.
Before you go
- Sort steel, aluminum, copper, and wire only as the buyer or site requested.
- Keep cylinders, aerosols, and refrigerant parts out of the scrap.
- Do not burn coatings or insulation off metal.
- Present an inspectable load and take refused pieces back home.
Cutting a refrigerator line to pull the compressor for scrap.
Questions people ask
Will a transfer station pay me for copper?
Do not expect a disposal site to act as a buyer. Call a scrap yard if you want to sell metal, and call the disposal site if you only need to get rid of it.
Can metal studs stay attached to drywall?
A yard will usually want the gypsum off. A trash bay may accept mixed debris. Ask which place you are going, and prepare the load for that answer.
Search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city, then call the site before you load the truck. Hours and accepted materials change.